Bitter Is Better: Wild Greens Used in the Blue Zone of Ikaria, Greece.

The current study reports an ethnobotanical field investigation of traditionally gathered and consumed wild greens (Chorta) in one of the five so-called Blue Zones in the world: Ikaria Isle, Greece. Through 31 semi-structured interviews, a total of 56 wild green plants were documented along with their culinary uses, linguistic labels, and locally perceived tastes. Most of the gathered greens were described as bitter and associated with members of Asteraceae and Brassicaceae botanical families (31%), while among the top-quoted wild greens, species belonging to these two plant families accounted for 50% of the wild vegetables, which were consumed mostly cooked. Cross-cultural comparison with foraging in other areas of the central-eastern Mediterranean and the Near East demonstrated a remarkable overlapping of Ikarian greens with Cretan and Sicilian, as well as in the prevalence of bitter-tasting botanical genera. Important differences with other wild greens-related food heritage were found, most notably with the Armenian and Kurdish ones, which do not commonly feature many bitter greens. The proven role of extra-oral bitter taste receptors in the modulation of gastric emptying, glucose absorption and crosstalk with microbiota opens new ways of looking at these differences, in particular with regard to possible health implications. The present study is also an important attempt to preserve and document the bio-cultural gastronomic heritage of Chorta as a quintessential part of the Mediterranean diet. The study recommends that nutritionists, food scientists, and historians, as well as policymakers and practitioners, pay the required attention to traditional rural dietary systems as models of sustainable health.

Classical Morphometrics in V. arvensis and V. kitaibeliana (Viola sect. Melanium) Reveals Intraspecific Variation with Implications for Species Delimitation: Inferences from a Case Study in Central Italy.

The high morphological variability of Viola arvensis may hinder the proper identification of the closely related species with an implication for biodiversity surveys. Variation in floral and vegetative morphology was explored in V. arvensis, compared to V. kitaibeliana, based upon 14 wild Italian populations, to provide new insights into their diagnostic features. Species were characterized using 32 morphological descriptors assessed on 272 flowers and as many leaves and scored as quantitative and categorical variables. Statistical methods, including Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), were applied to test species delimitation. Data highlighted variations in sepal size, petal size, leaves shape, stylar dark spot, and pollen magazine higher within V. arvensis than between V. arvensis and V. kitaibeliana. LDA partitioned the V. arvensis samples into two distinct clusters; no clear distinction was found between the cluster combining individuals from grasslands and V. kitaibeliana. The separation of V. arvensis and V. kitaibeliana from V. tricolor, included as a reference, was noticeable. Correlations were found in all species between the flower/leaf position on the stem and some floral and vegetative features. The shape and margin of the lower sepal, the stylar flap, and the lamina margin and apex were diagnostic in field identification. The results support the recognition of an undescribed V. arvensis eco-phenotype linked to seminatural dry grasslands, easily distinguishable from the field-grown type of V. arvensis but hardly distinguishable from the dwarf pansy. Data further corroborate the assumption of general deep-rooted confusion in ascribing poorly developed individuals of V. arvensis to the rare and locally threatened V. kitaibeliana, leading to potential implications for its conservation.

Anthropogenic and Environmental Factors Determining Local Favourable Conditions for Wolves during the Cold Season.

Winter resources are crucial for wildlife, and, at a local scale, some anthropogenic and environmental factors could affect their availability. In the case of wolves, it is known that vocalisations in response to unfamiliar howls are issued to defend their territory and the important resources within it. Then, we studied the characteristics of winter response sites (WRS) during the cold season, aiming to assess their eventual ability to provide insights into the distribution of valuable resources within their territories. Within this scope, we planned a wolf-howling survey following a standardised approach. The study covered an Apennine (Central Italy) area of 500 km2. A hexagonal mesh was imposed on the area, in order to determine the values of different variables at the local scale. A logistic LASSO regression was performed. WRS were positively related to the presence of thermal refuges (odds = 114.485), to patch richness (odds = 1.153), wild boar drive hunting areas (odds = 1.015), and time elapsed since the last hunt (odds = 1.019). Among negative factors, stray dogs reply considerably affects wolves' responsiveness (odds = 0.207), where odds are the exponentiated coefficients estimated by the logistic lasso regression. These results suggest that WRS are related to anthropogenic and environmental factors favouring the predation process.